Jennifer Akerman is an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee’s College of Architecture and Design where she teaches architectural design studio and other courses exploring issues of materiality, construction, and special topics of professional practice. Her research studios have explored the theme of living architecture, framing buildings as part of a larger ecosystem, including urban agriculture, bio-habitation, and microclimates. She was the lead faculty member supporting the Beardsley Community Farm design-build project, a student and faculty-led investigation that resulted in an education center for the farm which has been honored with numerous design awards. She is the recipient of the 2017 Collaborative Practice Award for excellence in architectural education by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). She is a licensed architect with a professional focus on exploring relationships between culture and materiality. With Adan Akerman, she leads the Knoxville-based industrial design practice Akerworks, inc., committed to developing innovative modern objects as an exploration of the relationship between design, material, and craft. 

Education 

Master of Architecture, Princeton University, Princeton NJ, 2002 

Bachelor of Science in Architecture, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA, 1998 

Expertise & Interests 

Urban agriculture 

Design-build 

Innovative critical practice 

Digital fabrication